*NIX: Pipelight has a new website - plus new version available

[40hz]

This is good news!

[attach]

[Tuxman]

"*NIX" for "Linux-only" is quite optimistic.

[40hz]

"*NIX" for "Linux-only" is quite optimistic.

Just an FYI: "*NIX" stands for any variant OS that is Unix-based or Unix-like. So that would mean Linux or Unix since the asterisk is the wildcard character. (Note: If you go to the website you'll see installation instructions for FreeBSD and PC-BSD. Isn't that wonderful? )

I'm also not sure what you mean by "optimistic" in this context.

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[Tuxman]

Just an FYI: "*NIX" stands for any variant OS that is Unix-based or Unix-like.

Pipelight is a wrapper for using Windows plugins in Linux browsers and therefore giving you the possibility to access services which are otherwise not available for Linux users. Typical examples of such services are Netflix and Amazon Instant, which both use the proprietary browser plugin Silverlight. These services cannot normally be used on Linux since this plugin is only available for Windows, and the only open source alternative (Moonlight) is lacking support for DRM.

Pipelight helps you access these services by using the original Silverlight plugin directly in your browser, all while giving you a better hardware acceleration and performance than a virtual machine. Besides Silverlight, you can also use a variety of other plugins that are supported by Pipelight. Take a look at the installation page for a complete list.

Pipelight uses a patched wine version to provide a windows environment to the plugins, but you do not need to worry about this as Pipelight will take care of installing, configuring and updating all supported plugins. From the perspective of the browser these plugins will behave just like any other normal Linux plugin after you have enabled them.

-- Ironically, the *BSD (well, only two of them?!) support - as well as the Linux "support" - works via Wine - thus, via an additional Windows simulation layer.  

No, this isn't "*NIX software". This is "Windows software which also runs on systems which can pretend to be Windows".

[40hz]

No, this isn't "*NIX software". This is "Windows software which also runs on systems which can pretend to be Windows".

And your point, assuming there is one, would be?

[Tuxman]

My point would be that my initial point that "*NIX" is a lie here still persists.

[40hz]

My point would be that my initial point that "*NIX" is a lie here still persists.

"Lie" is a very strong word. In English at least.

And not really accurate - or even relevant - in this context.

In English at least.

[Tuxman]

So, given that you really want to keep a misleading thread title, let me get into the contents then:

How is it "good news" that a Windows binary (Pipelight) which can access Windows plug-ins can run on Wine "now"?

[40hz]

So, given that you really want to keep a misleading thread title, let me get into the contents then:

How is it "good news" that a Windows binary (Pipelight) which can access Windows plug-ins can run on Wine "now"?

I think you might possibly lack sufficient familiarity with colloquial American-English usage and vocabulary such that I suspect you tend to misinterpret - and sometimes read far more into what is being said - than what is actually being said. As a result you can occasionally come across as being rather hostile and pedantic. Which I'd like to think is not your actual intent.

About the best I can suggest is to keep in mind that American-English is a very fluid and flexible language. It does not have, nor seek to duplicate, the level of grammatical precision some languages employ. It is also very context sensitive - which is a fancy way of saying grammatical rules (and sometimes actual words) are themselves less important than understanding the context in which something is being said. That's a tricky thing to manage. And it does lead to some major misunderstandings from time to time - even among native speakers. But that's the way the language works here.

So if you don't mind, I'll leave my OP as is. I doubt it's a causing concern or confusion to many (if any) of the other readers. And while I now understand what you're saying (and thanks for elaborating) and I can now see the point you're trying to make, in the context of the post itself, it's somewhat hair-splitting and slightly OT.

Of course, that may depend on how you interpret the title of this discussion board. You seem to be taking it to mean a place to discuss native-coded non-Windows software. The rest of us see it as a place to discuss software that does not require Windows be the OS in order to run it. As Mouser put in the keystone post:

I thought we might try adding a new section of the forum specifically for discussion of non-Windows software (and hardware), so here it is!

I know we have lots of people on DC that love linux, embedded hardware like Raspberry Pi, mac, android and ios, and it's probably time we had a special section for such discussions.  It would also be a good place to discuss cross-platform software, and may also be a good place to discuss non-windows related hardware.

Don't be shy about posting here -- it may take a little while for this section to reach critical mass.

I hope this helps you better understand where I'm coming from, and why I don't feel the need to either change the original post or drop *NIX from its title.

If that's not acceptable to you, then I'm afraid we'll just have to "agree to disagree" on this point, since this side-discussion can only start going in circles if it continues much longer.

Cheers!

[Tuxman]

I think you might possibly lack sufficient familiarity with colloquial American-English usage and vocabulary such that you tend to misinterpret

My familiarity with the slang of American-English native speakers reduces to discussions on mailing lists and online boards. Probably this is a good excuse.

and occasionally read far more into what is being said

Being pedantic is mostly intended, not restricted to certain languages. Of course it's not my intention to actively discourage you to tell us about software though.

I doubt it's a causing concern or confusion to many (if any) of the other readers. And while I now understand what you're saying (with thanks for elaborating) and can now see the point you're trying to make, in the context of the post itself, it's somewhat hair-splitting and slightly OT.

Well, probably, yes. I wasn't talking about the board but about the thread title in the first place. When it comes to software compatibility, being precise would even help here: Given that Pipelight is "Wine software" instead of "*NIX software", it's rather likely that it will even run on OpenBSD and other platforms which aren't actively announced on its website.
I might give it a try later.

I hope this helps you better understand where I'm coming from, and why I don't feel the need to either change the original post or drop *NIX from its title.

Agreed. My pedantry might sometimes be misinterpreted as trolling or flaming, but in this very case it wasn't meant to. Thanks for listening.

[40hz]

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for replying! I've long suspected I'm guilty of misinterpreting some of your posts. Let's move forward on that note.
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Note: perhaps "hostile" and "pendantic" aren't good descriptive terms. Perhaps curmudgeonish as "in the manner or style of a curmudgeon" would be more accurate?

cur·mud·geon
noun \(ˌ)kər-ˈmə-jən\

A  person (especially an old man) who is easily annoyed or angered and who often complains

I've been called a curmudgeon by some. I take it as a personal badge of honor. (In the context it was said, of course. )

[Tuxman]

I'm not that old! 

I'm not even angered. I'd assume "pedantic" fits better here indeed.

[40hz]

^Done. Scratch curmudgeonish. Pendantic it is then.

[Tuxman]

It's pedantic, you native American-English human! 

[40hz]

It's pedantic, you native American-English human! 

It was a lame attempt at a pun. (i.e "pen" as in written, as in one who pens pedantic posts?)

I know...pretty bad, right? Sorry.

Later! Gotta run.

[Tuxman]

So... pundantic?

[tomos]

good thread